BENTONVILLE (KFSM) -- Bentonville and Bentonville West high school students will wear I.D badges beginning this upcoming school year.
If a student is on campus, they are required to wear the badge. It's all part of an effort to beef up security.
"It just helps them to identify if they are a student or if they're not, they can question why they are in the building and radio to us that there is a student without an ID," said Steve Vera, Director of security for Bentonville schools.
The badges and lanyards will cost the district about $40,000.
Jack Loyd, principle of Bentonville high school says this project has been in the works for a few years.
"It's just progressively gotten to the state where we need them...we actually need them," Loyd sayd. "To have have them on our campus just for that extra security so that teachers know who students are and we can identify someone on our campus who is not suppose to be here quickly."
While not all students like wearing the new badges, one Bentonville student says he understands the good coming from them.
"With the I.D. badges it'll make it kind of easier to talk to people because it has the names and stuff on it, but at the same time it's gonna be kind of a burden at first to get used to, but the more and more people use them the easier it'll be, said Jack Burges, a student at Bentonville High School.
Temporary badges will be made for students who may forget or lose them on days for no cost.
Another addition coming to the Bentonville high schools are Commissioned School Security Officers.
These officers are the only people allowed to carry firearms on campus.
The Commissioned Security Officers are current security officers who would need to pass specific training to be armed.
There will be two officers at Bentonville and Bentonville West High School.
This new security measure will be added to a list of new security improvements for Bentonville Public Schools for the fall including audio/video security entry systems in elementary and middle schools, and improved lock down drills.